


Sweet Drinks, Sweeter Smile

by Biweatherman



Category: Groundhog Day - Minchin/Rubin
Genre: Coffee Shop, F/F, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 16:46:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11650668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biweatherman/pseuds/Biweatherman
Summary: Ned/Phil coffeeshop AU





	1. Chapter One

Phil entered the coffee shop where he had offered to meet Rhoda? Rhonda? The cute assistant producer, he was sure he’d remember her name later. The coffee shop wasn’t like the one he frequented, instead having a homey feel packed with overstuffed chairs and sofas. He saw her wave her hand in the air and moved to greet her, offering to get the drinks. She ordered a sugary caramel frappe, which to be honest did sound good to Phil, but not wanting to seem girly he settled on a black coffee

As he went up to the counter to order from the pretty blonde the other barista on duty looked up and then immediately moved forward to greet him. ‘Phil? Phil!’ 

Phil smiled, he was a the level of famousness where he got recognised maybe once a month at most so it was always a welcome ego boost ‘Thanks for watching’ 

‘Don’t say you don’t remember me. Ned, Ned Ryerson, we went to high school together’ 

‘Right. Ned. I remember’ He did, he just didn’t allow himself to think of it that often. ‘Long time no see. I’ll have a black coffee and a caramel frappe for table four’ he said before handing Ned the money and turning away as soon as he had received the change 

'So. Rita’ Phil said, finally remembering her name ‘What kinda guys do you like’

‘Phil. Don’t be gross’ she replied, rolling her eyes 

'I’m just trying to get to know you. I think it’s important to get to know the people you work with’ he said, with a smile 

'I agree but I’ve seen you have a casual conversation maybe once with someone at the station’ 

'That just shows how special you are that I’m taking the time to know you.’ Ned arrived with the drinks, saving Phil from Rita’s angry response 

'Oh, the frappe is for me’ Rita corrected grabbing the drink Ned had placed in front of Phil 

'But that means the black coffee is for Phil. He hates black coffee’ 

'I didn’t realise you’d been here before Phil’

‘I haven’t, and I like black coffee, people change Ned.’ 

'Hey, I’m Ned.’ Ned explained, as he swapped the drinks around, flashing a smile even Phil had to admit, even if only to himself, was cute. 'I went to school with Phil’

‘Hey. So school with Phil. Maybe we can get to know more about each other’ she said with a grin that stuck fear into Phil’s very heart 

'I’m sure Ned’s busy. Aren’t you Ned. Bye. Now back to you, Rita. You were just about to tell me what kind of guys you liked’ 

'No I wasn’t and if you’re going to continue to be immature I’m going to leave’

'Okay. Any pets or is that question immature too. You can never tell these days’

'Bye Phil. Oh and I have a dog but he stays at my parents house’ 

'You have a dog! Can I see pictures What’s his name’ Phil’s excitement at the mention of a dog seemed to change Rita’s mind as she returned to the table 

'Didn’t know you liked dogs Phil’ ’

I have a Samoyed called nimbus. I love her’ He said, already in the process of getting out his phone to show her pictures 

‘Wow. Who knew you were such a softie at heart’ 

‘Yeah. That’s me. Soft. Like a good boyfriend would be’ 

'Now I’m actually leaving Phil. Can’t you just have a normal conversation for once’ ’

This was normal. I was making an observation’ He shouted after her but soon he was left alone at the table with his drink, left untouched because Ned was right. He hated black coffee. 

Phil stood up to leave when he noticed the napkin Ned had brought him had a phone number written in the neat handwriting he remembered from English class. He didn’t know why but something compelled him to grab the napkin and stuff it into his jacket before leaving.


	2. Chapter Two

Phil sat on his bed, staring at the phone number, not really seeing it, but instead lost in the memory of that high school party from years ago. The party with Ned. The party were he kissed Ned. Later he’d claim he was drunk, he wasn’t. Well he was slightly tipsy but this had just given him the confidence to commit the act. He’d wanted to kiss the quiet kid from English with the cute smile for a long time.   
He still wanted to kiss Ned, more than that. He wanted to do stupid things like cuddle and not want, not need to let go, and cook dinner together and walk hand in hand. To have someone who saw Phil for who he was, who he really was and still liked him. Stupid. A silly fantasy, a harmless could’ve been that never should have been a could be.   
Phil tore up the napkin, not that it did any good, the number was seared into his memory, and decided to increase his efforts to win Rita over.

He took a detour on his usual walk to work to stop by the coffee shop. To get a drink for Rita, he told himself. Not because he hoped Ned would be there. For Rita. As he entered he saw Ned was working at the counter and his heart soared. 

‘Hey, Ned. Can I get caramel frappe’ ’

Phil! I knew you didn’t like black coffee. Didn’t I tell you’ 

‘Actually it’s for Rita’ Phil replied.

‘Rita? Is this the name of the girl you were with yesterday?’ The blonde barista, Nancy Phil read from her name tag, asked 

'Yeah’ 

'Get her some sticky buns. I’m sure she’ll like them’ 

'Thank you’ phil was confused as to why Nancy was helping him win Rita over, but he was going to take all the help he could get. And if that didn’t work then being polite to Nancy might help him have a shot with her. Phil looked at his phone while he waited, and then realised Ned had placed two drinks in front of him. 'I only ordered one drink’ 

'The second is one me. I promise you’ll like it’ Ned said, pushing the drinks gently into Phil’s hands.

As phil continued his walk to the station he took a sip of that drink and was transported to heaven, maybe Ned did know him well. If anything it was an excuse to keep coming back to the coffee shop. He came for Ned’s drinks, not Ned. 

Rita sat on a comfy chair in the coffee shop, waiting for Phil to arrive. She knew that Phil just bringing her a drink and food wasn’t a good reason to meet him again, but it showed that he did think of others sometimes. It was enough to give him a second chance. 

As she waited a women came up to her 

‘It’s Rita right, I’m Nancy' 

'Yes. I’m sorry have we met?' 

'No. sorry I work here. I was wondering if you enjoyed the sticky buns? I suggested Phil brought you them' 

'They were amazing. Thank you for the suggestion' 

'No worries. Just glad you liked them’ Nancy said, getting ready to leave when Rita suddenly found herself asking her to stay. Hey, she was pretty, and sweet and had a brilliant taste in food and Phil was always ten minutes late to everything so she might as well talk with someone. 

Phil entered the shop and noticed Rita was talking to the barista who had helped make all this happen 

“Hey Phil. Nancy and Ned’ she said, waving Ned over, 'are going to join us' 

'What about work?’ Phil asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice 

'They’re off shift' 

'I thought they had their shift now’ Actually he was banking on them keeping the same schedule week-to-week 

'No, We were last week because Fred and Debbie were on their honeymoon, but the lovebirds are back now, so we’re off shift.’ Nancy explained

‘Sit down. Ned already got us drinks, he said you’d like this’ Rita stated, making it clear she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

When Phil saw the drink from the other day sitting on table he knew he couldn’t refuse and reluctantly sat down next to Ned.


	3. Chapter Three

Phil, Ned, Rita and Nancy had been meeting for coffee about once a week for months now; long enough it had become routine, not long enough that Phil had managed to deal with the fact that Ned was sitting right next to him. Phil wondered if that would ever be normal to him. Unusually Rita and Nancy were late which left Phil and Ned in awkward silence, not for Ned’s lack of trying, who had tried to start a conversation at least five times in as many minutes.   
Rita and Nancy entered hand in hand, both with slightly nervous smiles on their faces.   
‘We wanted you to be the first to know-’ Nancy started 

‘Nancy and I are dating!’ Rita said, grinning ‘I actually want to thank Phil for this. If you hadn’t told me to meet you here I wouldn’t have met Nancy’ she continued, but Phil didn’t hear, instead being sucked into a whirlpool of thoughts as he realised his main excuse for seeing Ned and distraction from Ned had been Rita. With that gone he had no barrier, no walls. He had to leave.

‘I have to go. There’s some important things I have to do’ He said getting up out of his seat 

‘Are you okay?’ Nancy asked 

‘I’m fine, I just can’t afford to waste time’ He replied, putting on his coat 

‘Waste time? You’ve been meeting with us for months, what’s changed?’ Rita asked, sounding like she knew exactly what had changed 

'Well, if you aren’t going to sleep with me then this is a waste of time’ Phil said, not really thinking about what he was saying and allowing his brain to act on auto-pilot 

'You know everyone at the station warned me you were a jerk. But I thought they just didn’t spend time getting to know you, that they were misguided. Now I see I was the misguided one. You’re an asshole Phil’ Rita said. Phil knew that everything she was saying was true so he didn’t respond just started walking past her, towards the door. As he came closer Rita slapped him in the face before storming off, with Nancy following close behind. 

'Phil, let me take a look at that’ Ned said, grabbing Phils hand and leading him into a back room behind the counter before placing his hands on Phils cheek 

'It’s nothing. Trust me I’ve been slapped before’ Phil said, trying to pull away. 'Why are you doing this anyway? You heard what Rita said, I’m an asshole and that’s not really something I can deny’ 

'You’re wrong. I’ve seen something I think only a few people have seen, Phil. The real you. Because you’re just scared, aren’t you. A scared boy who builds barriers and is a jerk so people don’t get too close and maybe over the years has forgotten it was an act. But I haven’t, because I remember seeing a glimmer of the gentle guy you could be and I haven’t given up hope that you could still be that guy.’ Ned replied, his hand still in Phil’s cheek. 'Give me a reason for that hope. Call Rita, apologise, because we both know you didn’t mean what you said’ 

Phil had no idea what compelled him to obey but he pulled out his phone and dialled Rita’s number. Unsurprisingly it went straight to voicemail but when he looked at Ned, uncertain what to do, Ned just nodded encouragingly. 'Umm, hi Rita, its phil. Just calling to say- to apologise for what I said earlier. It was… hurtful and I was lashing out due to separate, uh, problems. That’s not a good excuse, and I’m not trying to excuse myself of blame so that’s probably a good thing. Anyway, sorry.’ 

'That wasn’t too hard, was it.’ 

'Uhhh, yeah. I’m going to go now’ 

'Are you sure? You could come have dinner at my place. It’s no big deal, once you have five kids another person joining isn’t a stretch’ 

'Five kids?’

'Yes. Jamie, Jack, Joey, Jasper and Mary’ Ned said, taking out his wallet to show Phil a picture of them

'Is that your wife? She pretty’ Phil said, looking at another picture and trying not to feel jealous or disappointed. 

'Yeah’ Ned paused 'She was. She’ He took a breath 'She passed’ 

'Oh Ned. I’m… I am so sorry. Dinner sounds great, though I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. I’m a terrible cook’ 

Ned smiled 'You can’t be that bad. You must cook for yourself sometimes. What do you eat?’

'There’s a Chinese place a block from my house’ 

'You don’t always eat Chinese?!’

'Sometimes I order pizza if I want to mix it up’ 

'Then you have to come. You need to eat some home cooked food for once’ 

'Okay’ Phil said, walking out with Ned. They started the walk in silence, which was only broken when they were walking through the park and Phil’s hand accidentally brushed Ned’s. Ned took this as an invitation and held Phil’s hand and Phil suddenly felt calm. His heart, which had been hammering so fast and loud he was sure Ned could hear it slowed down and it was like Ned’ s hand was a lifeline to a world of peace.

They arrived at the house and as soon as the door opened Phil was blasted with noise. A children’s cartoon was playing on the TV, a five year old came running into Ned’s arms and a teenager aged maybe fifteen asked Ned “Dad, is that the guy from the weather?’

“Yes. I’m Phil Connors, I went to school with your dad.” Phil replied, taking a deep breath and trying not to get overwhelmed by the fact that five kids were all looking at him. 

“Jack, don’t be rude. Introduce yourself” Ned reprimanded

“You just introduced me” The boy said with a smirk and Phil instantly took a liking to him. 

“Jack.” Ned said sternly,

“Kidding. Hey Phil, I’m Jack, if that wasn’t obvious.”

The other kids introduced themselves and Phil tried to keep track but with the large number of names and the fact the majority started with the same letter he knew he would forget or mix up most of them. Ned then gestured them into the kitchen and started to divvy up roles and Phil relaxed into the domestic rhythm, enjoying listening to the others conversations as he dutifully cut up vegetables. 

The resulting food was delicious and Phil was unsure how he would be able to manage only eating Chinese and pizza after this and was tempted to ask Ned to teach him how to cook. After dinner Ned put Mary and Jasper to bed and the other kids went to do homework or play on their computers in their rooms, leaving Ned and Phil alone in the kitchen. 

“I should probably go. Thanks for the meal” Phil said, half hoping Ned would ask him to stay

“It’s quite late and I’m pretty sure the TV station where you work is only a few blocks from here. You could stay the night, I’m fine sleeping on the sofa” Ned offered

“No.” Phil replied and Ned’s smile dropped until Phil continued “You’re not sleeping on the couch. I’m the guest, let me.’

‘I’m not letting any guest of mine sleep on the couch. Let’s just share the bed. Oh, and I have an old t-shirt if you want something to sleep in” Ned offered. 

Ten minutes later Phil found himself in Ned’s bedroom, wearing an old Ohio State shirt and his boxers, lying in bed trying not to accidentally touch Ned. This failed ultimately when Ned rolled over towards Phil, resting his arm across Phil’s stomach. Phil smiled down at Ned and couldn’t resist stroking his hands through the mans hair until he fell asleep. 

The men woke up tangled in each others arms and Phil couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face as he stared into Ned’s eyes, and then his eyes moved downwards slightly before settling on Ned’s lips and he resisted the urge to kiss them. Almost unknowingly Phil tilted his head towards Ned’s and Ned met him midway, there lips colliding into a gently kiss. Phil almost immediately pulled away, not because he thought he shouldn’t kiss Ned and definitely not because he didn’t want to but because he needed to make sure this was real and not just another daydream of his. They both just stayed silent for a second, with wide grins on their faces before they moved together for a longer, passionate kiss. 

“We should get up” Ned said, after they pulled apart. Neither man moved. 

“Let’s just lie here for a bit”

“Phil, we have work”

“We could skip work” Phil said, punctuating each word with a kiss to Ned’s neck.

“Go to work, and I can pick you up outside of your house at six, for a proper date.” 

Phil had never gotten out of bed so quickly. 

 

 

Phil walked down the street, holding a coffee in one hand and Mary’s hand in another as he made his routine walk from his house, to the coffeeshop to drop off Ned and then to Jasper and Mary’s school, with the other kids making their own ways to school. It was almost a year since his first date with Ned and Phil couldn’t believe his luck. Especially with what happened yesterday Phil thought, unable to take his eyes off the ring on his hand. 

If you told him a year ago that he would be happily engaged to the man of his dreams surrounded by a family of people who loved him he wouldn’t have laughed at the thought but he probably would have cried at the idea that he, who deserved so little had gained so much. Phil smiled at how much his life had changed in the past year and couldn’t believe it had all been because of some sweet drinks and an even sweeter smile.


End file.
